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Chávez Seizes Greater Economic Power

Caracas, May 18.— Faced with shortages of foods, building materials and other staples, President Hugo Chávez is intensifying state control of the Venezuelan economy through a new wave of takeovers of private companies and the creation of government-controlled ventures with allies like Cuba and Iran. Hugo Chávez, Venezuela's President

The moves come just months after voters rejected a referendum to give the president sweeping constitutional power over the economy and public institutions, leading to new accusations that Mr. Chávez is more interested in consolidating power than in fixing Venezuela’s problems.

And while he has argued that aggressive action against the private sector is needed to correct social injustices and fight soaring inflation, his critics say his moves are instead compounding those troubles.

One significant measure is foreign investment, which has hit record levels in several other Latin American countries but has fallen in Venezuela.

As foreign interests reacted to Mr. Chávez’s socialist-inspired changes, including nationalizations last year of major electricity, telephone and oil companies, outside investment dropped to just $500 million in 2007. In contrast, Peru, with a population comparable to Venezuela’s 27 million, received $5.4 billion in foreign investment last year.

Astounding tilt to West in Serbian Elections

Belgrade, May 12.— A pro-Western party declared victory on Sunday night in closely contested parliamentary elections that were widely Boris Tadic celebrates electoral victory viewed as a referendum on whether Serbia would turn toward the West or revert to the nationalism and isolation of the Slobodan Milosevic years.

With 85 percent of the vote counted, the Center for Free Elections and Democracy, an independent monitoring group, said the party of Serbia’s president, Boris Tadic, which wants the nation to join the European Union, had received nearly 39% of the vote.

In a distant second place was Tomislav Nikolic’s far-right Radical Party, which advocates closer ties with Moscow, with about 29% of the ballots. The party of the departing nationalist prime minister, Vojislav Kostunica, received about 11% of the vote. About 6.7 million people were registered to vote, including Kosovo’s ethnic Serbs.

“The citizens of Serbia have chosen the European path, and Serbia will be in the E.U.,” said Mr. Tadic, a former psychologist ...

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Dalai Lama: Revered by Tibetans, reviled by China

Tibetans demand an end to the clampdown in Tibet, including the withdrawal of security forces from monasteries & no more “patriotic education” requiring monks to denounce the Dalai Lama

The devil China knows
The Economist, May 8.- Not long after calling him a “devil” with a human face and the heart of a beast, Chinese officials are talking again to representatives of the Dalai Lama. But in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala, the seat of Tibet's government-in-exile, few believe China's own heart has changed. “The basis of their attitude towards Tibet is...distrust and fear,” the Dalai Lama told The Economist a day after a meeting on May 4th in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen between two of his envoys and two senior Communist Party officials. It was the first contact between the two sides since unrest broke out in Tibet and other ethnic Tibetan regions of China in March.

Both sides are anxious not to appear to be closing the door. Lodi Gyari, one of the Dalai Lama's representatives at the talks, described them as a “step in the right direction” and said more would be held, though no date has been announced. China said there could be further contact as long as the Dalai Lama showed “sincerity”. China's surprising decision to offer renewed talks seemed aimed at deflecting foreign criticism of its handling of Tibet ahead of the Beijing Olympics ...

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Bolivia's referendum shows depth of division

Pro-autonomy supporters in Bolivia's eastern department of Santa Cruz have turned the capital city's main square into a sea of green and white flags - the colours of the region

May 5.- The celebrants have ignored the allegations of fraud made by supporters of Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales.
Celebrating Bolivian Referendum

It is a defining moment for an increasingly powerful civic and business movement and a skilled political opposition which united in this resource-rich province to challenge Mr Morales.

Before thousands of exultant "crucenos" - as the people from Santa Cruz are called - Ruben Costas, the now self-declared governor of Santa Cruz, claimed that the victory meant, "initiating the path towards a new republic".

Supporters of more autonomy for the region want to loosen what they term the "totalitarian and hegemonic centralism" of the central government in La Paz ...

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Zimbabwe: Mugabe lost the first round - but rigged results to force a second round under his rule

May 3.- Nearly five weeks after the presidential election, the results have at last come out. According to the electoral commission Morgan Tsvangirai, the challenger, beat Robert Mugabe, the incumbent, but too narrowly to win outright. The official data said that Mr Tsvangirai had won 47.9% of the vote to Mr Mugabe’s 43.2%. This means there must be a run-off. But it is unclear whether Mr Tsvangirai will take part. The Movement for Democratic Change insists that its candidate won outright with 50.3% and that the official results are false.

Mr Tsvangirai faces a dilemma. If he boycotts a second round, he will lose by default. But if he agrees to compete, Mr Mugabe and his ZANU-PF party seem certain to use intimidation, violence and vote-rigging to force people to vote for the incumbent. For now the opposition leader remains abroad, unlikely to return without being offered guarantees of his safety.